Vice President's Secretariat
Rajya Sabha passed 3,817 Bills in the last 67 years; Held 5,466 sittings since 1952
60 Bills passed by Upper House lapsed on dissolution of Lower House; 63 Bills deemed passed by RS
Amended 120 Bills and rejected five Bills passed by Lok Sabha
Total of 2,282 members so far; 208 women members and 137 nominated
Women members double from 15 in 1952 to 31 in 2014
The Indian Tariff  Bill first one passed; The Special Marriages Bill, the first social reform Bill
RS Chairman releases publication on the journey of Rajya Sabha ahead of 250th session from tomorrow
The first ever effort by the Rajya Sabha secretariat to quantify and analyse the legislative work done by the Upper House since it came into being in 1952 has revealed that the House has passed 3,817 Bills till the end of the last and the 249th session. Of these, 60 Bills had lapsed due to the dissolution of Lok Sabha at various points of time while 63 Bills were deemed to have been passed by the Upper House while two Bills cleared by it are still to be taken up in Lok Sabha. In effect, a total of 3,818 Acts of Parliament have been made since the first general elections in 1952.
A wide range of such statistical summary and other details on various aspects of the functioning of the House are contained in a publication “Rajya Sabha : The Journey since 1952” released by Chairman Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu at a meeting of the leaders of various parties and groups here today. Shri Naidu convened the meeting to seek cooperation of the parties for smooth functioning of the landmark 250th session of Rajya Sabha beginning tomorrow.
The 118 page publication with 29 chapters is a ready reckoner with interesting statistics, details of the first moves and some unique events besides details of major Bills passed by the Rajya Sabha in respect of social change, economic transformation, industrial development, health, education, agriculture, environment, national security and the objectives of 103 Constitution amendments so far made etc.
A glimpse of the content relating to the journey of Rajya Sabha during the last 67 years since it’s first sitting on 13.5.1952 is furnished below:
Members :
Total members of Rajya Sabha so far including those with more than one term is 2,282 including 208 women and 137 nominated members. Dr.Mahendra Prasad is serving the highest number of 7th term followed by Dr.Manmohan Singh serving 6th term. Dr.Najma Heptulla and late Shri Ram Jethmalani are the other two with six terms each. Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, Shri A.K.Anthony, Shri Ahmed Patel and Smt.Ambika Soni are into their fifth term while Shri Pranab Mukherjee, late Shri Bhupesh Gupta, Shri Sitaram Kesri, Ms.Sajor Khaparde, Shri B.V.Abdulla Koya were among the 11 members with five terms in the Upper House. Rajya Sabha Chairman Shri Naidu is among the 45 members with four terms each.
The representation of women in Rajya Sabha increased from 15  in 1952 increased to 31 in 2014 and is now 26 in 2019.
Some unique events relating to Rajya Sabha:
1.Casting vote by the Chair: The first and the only time when a Presiding Officer of Rajya Sabha cast his vote was when the Panel Chairman Shri M.A.Baby did so on 5.8. 1991 when the voting was tied 39-39 on the Statutory Resolution moved by the opposition seeking disapproval of the Code of Criminal Procedure  Ordinance resulting in the victory of the opposition in the House.
2.President Rule approved only by Rajya Sabha: It happened only twice in respect of extension of President Rule in Tamilnadu and Nagaland in 1977 and in case of Haryana in 1991 when Lok Sabha was dissolved.
3.Removal of a Judge: The only time Rajya Sabha adopted a motion for removal of a Judge was in respect of Justice Soumitra Sen of Calcutta High Court on 18.8.2011 but he resigned before the motion was taken up in Lok Sabha.
4.Expulsion of members: Rajya Sabha adopted a motion on 15.11.1976 for expulsion of Dr.Subramanian Swamy whose conduct and activities were found by a Committee to be derogatory to the dignity of the House and it’s members. Dr.Chatrapal Singh was expelled on 23.11.2005 after Ethics Committee found him guilty of accepting money for asking questions. Dr.Swami Sakhsi Ji Maharaj was expelled on 21.3.2006 for irregularities in recommending projects under MPLAD scheme.
5.Suspension of members for the remainder of the session: 7 members viz.,Shri Kamal Akhtar,Shri Veer Pal Singh Yadav, Dr.Ejaz Ali, Shri Sabir Ali, Shri Subhash Prasad Yadav, Shri Amil Alam Khan and Shri Nand Kishore Yadav were on 9.3.2010 suspended for the remainder of the 219th session for willfully obstructing the Business of the House during discussion on women’s reservation bill.
6. Reprimand: Former Member of Rajya Sabha Shri K.K.Tiwari was summoned to the Bar of the House and was reprimanded on 1.6.1990 for a statement published in newspapers the same day that brought the office of Chairman and the House to indignity and contempt.
7. Bill passed by Rajya Sabha but negative by Lok Sabha: The Constitution  Bill, 1990 seeking to amend Article 356 relating to extension of President’s Rule in Punjab.
8. Bills passed by Lok Sabha but negatived by Rajya Sabha : The Constitution  Bill, 1970 seeking to terminate privy purses and privileges of former Indian States, The Banking Service Commission  Bill, 1977, The Constitution  Bill, 1989 seeking to insert a new Part IX in the constitution relating to Panchayats, The Constitution  Bill, 1989 relating to Nagar Panchayats and Municipalities and The Prevention of Terrorism Bill, 2002.
9.Bill reconsidered by Rajya Sabha: Rajya Sabha passed the Parliament  Amendment Bill on 17.5.2006 as earlier passed by Lok Sabha but the President referred the same for reconsideration on 30.5.2006. Rajya Sabha reconsidered the same and passed as it was on 27.7.2006 and Lok Sabha passed it four later and was later assented to by the President on 18.8.2006.
10. Bills passed at the joint sittings of both the Houses of Parliament :
-The Dowry Prohibition Bill, 1959 was first introduced in and passed by Lok Sabha. Rajya Sabha later insisted on some amendments to which Lok Sabha did not agree. The Bill was passed on 9.5.1961 at a joint sitting.
-The Banking Service Commission  Bill, 1978 first introduced in and passed by Lok Sabha was later rejected by Rajya Sabha. It was passed on 16.5.2018 at a joint sitting.
-The Prevention of Terrorism Bill, 2002 passed by Lok Sabha was negatived by Rajya Sabha and was later passed at a joint sitting on 26.3.2002.
Some firsts relating to Rajya Sabha:
First sitting of the House was held on 13.5.1952
First Bill passed : The Indian Tariff  Bill, 1952
First Bill concerning social change: The Special Marriages Bill, 1952
First Constitution Amendment Bill passed by Rajya Sabha: The Constitution  Bill, 1953 for readjustment of representation in Lok Sabha by increasing the size of population per constituency.
First Bill on Law and Order: The Preventive Detention  Bill, 1952
First Bill on imports: The Live-stock Importation  Bill, 1953
First media related Bill: The Press  Amendment Bill, 1953
First on reorganization of States: The Andhra State Bill, 1953
First Bill on health education: The All India Institute of Medical Sciences Bill, 1955
First on urban development : The Faridabad Development Corporation Bill, 1955
First on agriculture: The Agriculture Produce  Bill, 1956
First Bill on all-India services: The All India Services  Bill, 1958
First security related Bill: The Armed Forces  Special Powers Bill, 1958
First relating to animals: The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Bill, 1959
First on corporate take over: The Jayanti Shipping Company  Bill, 1966
First on pollution: The Prevention of Water Pollution Bill, 1969
First nationalization Bill: The Banking Companies  Bill, 1970
First against economic offences: The Economic Offences  Bill, 1974
First Money Bill deemed to have been passed by Rajya Sabha: The Appropriation  No.4 Bill, 1978
First Bill referring to terrorism: The Terrorist Affected Areas  Bill, 1984
Bills passed by Lok Sabha and amended by Rajya Sabha : The 120 such Bills include; The Companies Bill, 1953, The UGC Bill, 1954, The Constitution  Bill, 1978, The Chit Funds Bill, 1982, The Prevention of Corruption Bill, 1988, The Prevention of Money Laundering Bill, 2002, The Special Economic Zones Bill, 2005, The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Bill, 2013, The Lok Pal and Lok Ayuktas Bill, 2016, The National Medical Council Bill, 2019 and The Motor Vehicles  Bill, 2019.
The most impactful Bills passed by Rajya Sabha sector-wise since 1952 include:
-The Hindu Marriage and Divorce Bill, 1952, The Hindu Succession Bill, 1954, The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace  Bill, 2012, The Muslim Women  Bill, 2019 and the Constitution  Amendment Act, 2019 providing for reservation for the economically weaker sections.
The Companies Bill, 1953 , Banks Nationalisation Bill, 1970, Coal Mines Nationalisation Bill, 1973, the Prevention of Money Laundering Bill, 1999, the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Bill, 2003, the Black Money  and Imposition of Tax Bill, 2015, the Constitution Amendment Bill, 2016 introducing GST, The Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2018 and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.
The States Reorganisation Bill, 1956, The North-Eastern Council Bill, 1969, The National Capital Region Planning Board Bill, 1985, The Constitution 73rd and 74th Amendment Acts, 1992 providing for direct elections to Panchayats and Municipal bodies with one third reservation for women and The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019.
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Bill, 1981, The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Bill, 1985 and The National Dairy Development Board Bill, 1987.
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences Bill, 1955, The Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques  Bill, 1991, The Transplantation of Human Organs  Bill, 2011 and the National Medical Commission Bill, 2019
The University Grants Commission Bill, 1954 and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2009.
The Wild Life  Bill, 1972, The Forest  Bill, 1980, The Environment  Bill, 1986, The Compensatory Afforestation Bill, 2016.
The Unlawful Activities  Bill, 1967, The Maintenance of Internal Security Bill, 1971, The National Security Bill, 1980, The Terrorists and Disruptive Activities  Bill, 1985, The Prevention of Terrorism Bill, 2002, The National Investigation Agency Bill, 2008 and The Unlawful Activities  Amendment Bill, 2019.
Other impactful Bills passed by Rajya Sabha include; The Official Languages Bill, 1963, The Prevention of Black Marketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Bill, 1980, The Consumer Protection Bill, 1986, The Prasar Bharati  Bill, 1989, The Places of Worship  Bill, 1991, The Acquisition of Certain Areas at Ayodhya Bill, 1993, The Cable Television Networks  Bill, 1995, The Electricity Regulatory Commission Bill, 1998, The Information Technology Bill, 2000, The Right to Information Bill, 2005, The National Rural Employment Guarantee Bill, 2005, The Lok Pal and Lok Ayuktas Bill, 2013, The Aadhar  Bill, 2016 and the Motor Vehicles  Bill, 2019.
In his foreword to the publication, Chairman Shri Venkaiah Naidu said; “Indeed, Rajya Sabha has all through been a lively and sagacious institution. It should continue to function with even greater vigor and zeal towards fulfilling the aspirations of the people, especially, the younger ones. Still, some missed opportunities may not be ruled out. We need to learn from the experience of the last 67 years and strive to make our Parliament even more effective towards building a New India which compares favorably with the better placed in the comity of the nations. Time is the essence in doing so and for making up for the missed opportunities.”